Improvement in pruning-shears



tiene aan@ patent dtlillire.

vIRcIL' HAYES, or TEKoNsIIA, AND LEWIS oUATfr. or noIIFoRD,

MICHIGAN. I

Letters .Patent No. 96,232, :lated October- 26,` 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN PRUNINGSHEARS.

-HCH The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent' and making part of the Same.

To all whomt't may concern:

Be it known that we, VIRGIL HAYES, of Tekonsha, and LEWIS CUATT, of Eckford, bothin the county of G- lhoun, and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Pruning- Shears; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, `and exact description of the saine, reference being had to the annexed drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view.

Figure 2 is an end elevation or edge view of moditied construction.v

Similar letters indicate corresponding parts in both figures.

O ur invention relates to that class of implement-s for pruning trees, Ste., that encloses the limb or shoot between a movable cutting-blade and a stationary cutting-hook, which is mounted on a p ole, the movable blade being connected, through intermediate levers, to a primary level', actuated by one hand of the operator, while grasping the 'pole with the other.

The varying conditions under which the superfluous limbs and shoots ot' trees arepresented to the operator, in the act of pruning, demand a more favorable arrangement of the cutting and actuating-parts, both in relation with each other, and with the pole to be grasped firmly against the cutting-action, than have been hitherto Aused for suoli purpose, as will hereinafter be` more fully explained; Vand tto better enable those skilled in this art to construct our improvement, we vwill proceed to give a sufficiently minute description ofthe same. A

` A represents the pole, broken in the middle, to indicate its want of proportionate length. v l

One end is furnished with a stationary hook-shaped blade, B, .the concave edge being made sharp, to take lhold ofthe limb yto be out, or to lop off small twigs with. The other or lower end is provided with a liandle, H, shaped either as shown or inany similar mauner, so that it may be conveniently grasped by intr ducing the hand, so as to steady the pole against the cutting-action. l

C is y'the cutting-blade, which we pivot to the hook B, like a pair ot' shears, the pivot-hole nthe said blade being made low down, near the back edge, or in a projection forged in the back, for the purpose of producing a smooth drawing-cnt. l

Below, and in line with the shank of the cuttingblade C, (which shank may be extended to serve as a leven) we pivot the end of a lever-bar, D, tothe shank 'of the hook B,and link the two together by the link-bar E, so as to obtain a compound leverage, substantially as seen.

The long end of the bar Dis jointed to, the short end of the hand-lever L 'bythe rodF.

We curve the pivoted end of the hanzl-lever, and pivot it to the bent handle on the cutting-side of the pole, andwork the-lever within a guard, G, so that when the lever is fully depressed, at'the completion ot' the cut, it-will not encroacli materially on tue handlespace, and the hand of the operator will oe fully protected.

We do not desire fo coniine ourselves to the exact construction in tig. 1, where the handle is shown as connected to the .pole by a socket-insertion, foithe handle may be very advantageously formed, by bending the pole itself, in the usual manner of steamingv and bending wood, or the pole may be constructed ot' a piece of light metal tubing, and bent to form the handle, in the ordinary way oi' bending tubes.

The operation will be readily understood without any further description.. A

Fig. 2 exhibits a modified con-struction, in which,

'if desired, -the levers, 8vo., may work centrally, by l making a slight lateral bend in the hook-shank, using a double link, foi-king one ond ot' the lever D andthe ends'of the'conuecting-rod F.

The hand-lever, in this case, will work in a guardslot, cored out in the socket brother shank ot' a cast handle.

XVe know `that triple-lever arrangements have been used to operate a vibrating cutting-blade in connection with a cutting-hook, but in none that We have seen have the operating parts been so arranged, relatively with the pole and each othenethat the 'operator can prune with a drawing-cut, by pulling y'the pri mary hand-lever toward him, asin our arrangement, whereby his power on the triple leverage is most favorably exerted.

1n addition to this advantage, the relation which our curved handle bears to the prime hand-lever, simplifies the implement, make its whole length available, and enables the'opera'tor to apply' it more extensively and'in more diversiiied positions, from a single stand point, than is usual, and thus greatly expedites and relieves the laborious operation of pruning trees.

What We claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

The pruning-shears, herein described, consisting of the hook B, pivoted blade lG,`link E, lever D, rod F,

= curved. hand-lever L, pole A, and bent handle H,

with guard G, all constructed, arranged, and operat-I ing substantially as setforth. A

- VIRGIL HAYES.

LEWlS GUATT.

Witnesses;

ALBERT PATCH, Or'ro L. JOHNSON. 

